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'She
was an eternal student who was always hungry for a new challenge. She
had recently moved back to Sussex from Scotland to be closer to her
family and we were lucky enough to spend a family Christmas together.

'This
has been a complete shock to the family and we appeal to anyone who has
any information, no matter how trivial, to contact Sussex Police.'

Detectives
probing the circumstances surrounding her death - who have made no arrests in the case - have taken her
relatives' belongings away for examination, according to a friend.

Artist Valerie Graves, 55, (right) was apparently bludgeoned to death while house-sitting for friends. Former rock band roadie Roy Wood (left) was questioned for several hours
but not arrested or cautioned

Ernie Mears, 80, who is close to Miss
Graves's mother Eileen, said he was interviewed by police for five
hours over a Boxing Day meal he shared with the family four days before
the victim's body was found on Monday.

'They
took an eight-page statement, fingerprints and DNA samples as part of
the elimination process,' he said. 'I still feel in the dark about
what's happened and didn't learn much from them.'

Mr
Mears had lunch with Miss Graves's mother, sister Janet and
brother-in-law Nigel Acres last Thursday, and was shocked to hear of her
death just a few days later.

'I eventually spoke to Nigel on New Year's Day,' he added. 'He told me the detectives had taken their mobiles and things away.'

It emerged last night that police are investigating an advert on a well-known sex website, which suggests the property, located in a village that once featured in ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders, could be used as a venue for ‘casual sex’ and a ‘discreet relationship’.

Search: Investigators look for clues to the mystery as they scour the local area today

Tribute: Friends' heartfelt message to the murder victim attached to a bunch of flowers outside the house

The person who posted the ad on the
site, which is used by men and women looking for sex, described
themselves as the ‘director of fun and pleasuring’, adding: ‘Ok, I’m
VERY wealthy.’ They said they were interested in group sex as well as
‘blindfolds, bondage and discipline’.

The post appears to have been recently deleted, but copies had been retained by Google.

There is no suggestion that any of the occupants of the house at the time of the murder were aware of its past.

Former
rock band roadie Roy Wood – the father of her two grown-up children –
was questioned for several hours but not arrested or cautioned.

On guard: A police car stationed outside the £1.6million mansion in Bosham today

Police are investigating an advert on a well-known sex website, which suggests that the property in Bosham, West Sussex, could have been used as a venue for 'casual sex' and a 'discreet relationship'

The
65-year-old lives on the outskirts of Brighton, 30 miles from the
murder scene in the picturesque village of Bosham.

Miss
Graves was found dead with a ‘significant’ head injury on Monday. She
is understood to have been house-sitting with family members and friends
at the cream-coloured property over the festive period.

Police said they could not rule out the possibility that the murderer broke in, but they have ‘strong suspicions’ that Miss Graves was killed by someone she knew.

The
waterside home, which has its own pool house and a jetty, is owned by
66-year-old millionaire entrepreneur and company director Malcolm
Chamberlain and his wife Caroline, 63.

It
is on the outskirts of Bosham where many properties are second homes
owned by the wealthy elite, including an Oscar-winning actress and rock
legend.

Roadie: Mr Wood has worked with well-known artists including Donovan and Steve Harley

Musician: He is also a guitarist in his own band, and is currently writing a memoir about life on the road

Neighbours said the owners had travelled overseas with their twin children to spend Christmas at a holiday home owned by a family member.

Miss Graves’ fellow house-sitters are thought to have included her sister Janet, 60, who lives in Weybridge, Surrey.

Janet’s partner Nigel Acres, a 59-year-old architect, is an old friend of Mr Chamberlain, who has business interests in property.

The couple bought their home in Weybridge from the Chamberlains.

The murdered artist – who specialised in making toy hares from fibres – had recently moved to the South Coast from the Scottish borders, where she ran a craft business, to care for her ailing 87-year-old mother Eileen.

Her ex-boyfriend, Mr Wood, is originally from the East London/Essex borders, and attended school in Barking.

Investigation: Police were seen searching nearby streams

A Sussex Police team searches around a tree in the garden of the property

Some boats stored near the property. The area is popular with with leisure yachting enthusiasts and tourists

He then had a successful career as a sound engineer, touring Europe with artists including Donovan, and Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.

Mr Wood lives with his new partner Saskia Wesnick and their daughter Julia, 19, and is writing memoirs of his wild years on the road, while running the Sussex Diving Club.

A keen Facebook user, he also uses the pseudonym Roy Weard, and uses the site to advertise the band he currently plays guitar with, Wooden Lion. In a striking series of photographs on the Net, Mr Wood is seen apparently dressed as the 1920s cinema vampire Nosferatu, as he poses among gravestones.

In recent days he has posted images from beauty spots around East Sussex, and made no mention of Miss Graves.

Last April however he did refer to his former partner ‘Val’ as he posted a copy of a song he had written about a man jilting his lover, complete with illustrations by Miss Graves.

Evidently still in touch with her, he said: ‘she was and still is a talented artist’.

The waterside home, which has its own pool house and a jetty, is owned by 66-year-old millionaire entrepreneur and company director Malcolm Chamberlain and his wife Caroline, 63

Victim: The 55-year-old woman was found in this mansion on Monday with a severe head injury

A friend of Miss Graves’s mother, Ernie Mears, described the murdered woman as friendly and loving. The retired builder, 80, said: ‘I can’t believe what has happened. I was at the house on Boxing Day.

‘Nigel always cooks and we sat down to a wonderful meal with cold turkey, then they gave me my Christmas presents.

'It was Nigel, Jan, myself and Eileen that day. They treat me like one of the family. Valerie’s murder came as a great shock to me. I cannot make out how Valerie has come to harm because Nigel would be there to protect them. I found her to be a lovely chatty lady, who was dedicated to her children and family.’

Property owner Mr Chamberlain – who describes himself online as an ‘entrepreneur and investor’ – has enjoyed a string of directorships during an apparently successful career in business.

One of three brothers, he is a director, with his wife, of an electronic component manufacturing company. On his LinkedIn profile, he uses the Latin motto ‘Aut inveniam viam aut faciam’, which means ‘I shall either find a way or make one’.

The murder has rocked the sleepy village of Bosham, which sits on a small peninsula between two tidal creeks.

The wealthy enclave, at the eastern end of Chichester harbour, has an extremely low crime rate, with no burglaries recorded for the last two months.

Bosham was used to film a scene of Midsomer Murders titled Written in Blood. Officers continued to comb the sprawling murder scene for clues yesterday as a police launch was used to tow away a 14ft motor boat.

A post mortem found Miss Graves died from significant head and facial injuries.